Combat pay hike sought

From Manila Standard Today (Jul 5): Combat pay hike sought

Two party-list lawmakers on Thursday pushed for the passage of several measures that seek to uphold the rights and welfare of retired and current members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Newly-elected partylist group Magdalo Para sa Pilipino (Magdalo) Reps. Gary Alejano and Francisco Ashley Acedillo appealed to Congress to prioritize passage of their bill that would grant higher combat duty pay for the military.

“This early, we want to set the tone of Magdalo’s legislative policy in clear and unequivocal terms: that we will fight for the cause of our brothers and sisters in the armed forces. It is high time that their voices be heard in the halls of Congress,” Alejano said.

The Magdalo lawmakers have proposed an increase in combat duty for AFP officers and enlisted personnel from a minimum of 5 percent to a maximum of 25 percent of the base pay of a Private.

Aside from the bill on combat duty pay hike, the Magdalo party-list also filed measure a seeking the establishment of a Philippine Veterans Authority (PVA).

The proposal seeks to abolish the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), the Philippine Veterans Assistance Commission (PVAC), and the Board of Trustees of the Veterans of World War II (BTVWWII), and consolidate them into one government agency.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/07/05/combat-pay-hike-sought/